SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo vividly remembers he and Tom Brady admiring film in their New England Patriots’ days, and they watched in awe, not over a Brady dime but rather an Aaron Rodgers’ jump pass.
“We’d try to break that down, ‘How the hell is he doing this?’ ” Garoppolo recalled Wednesday. “It was cool. It was quarterbacks being quarterbacks.”
Garoppolo has studied Rodgers’ moves for nearly a decade, trying to learn all he can about NFL tradecraft. One move that caught him and almost everyone by surprise this April was the 49ers’ long-shot inquiry about trading for the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback and reigning NFL MVP.
“I honestly didn’t get any inkling of that,” Garoppolo said. “That’s how the offseason goes — teams always trying to look for something new, something better. That’s the nature of the beast.”
Rodgers is now in his 17th and possibly final season with the Green Bay Packers. Wednesday, he got asked by local reporters if he thought he finally might join the 49ers, the franchise he grew up rooting for in Chico, the one that spurned him atop the 2005 draft and the team that’s beaten him in all three of their playoff meetings.
“There were points where I thought anything was possible, definitely. But not a strong possibility,” Rodgers responded ahead of Sunday’s 49ers home opener against him and the Packers.
Coach Kyle Shanahan noted Wednesday the 49ers never prepared a potential trade package for Rodgers, but that didn’t stop him from calling Packers’ cohort Matt LaFleur to confirm any trade request would result in a quick “No.” Added Shanahan: “We didn’t see how that would happen, so we made sure of it, and quickly realized our hunch was right, so we didn’t have to discuss it long.”
Come Sunday night, Garoppolo will duel with Rodgers in the 49ers’ home opener, in what could be a more quarterback-centric matchup than, say, the 2019 season’s NFC Championship Game, when Garoppolo only needed to attempt eight passes (six completions, 77 yards) in a run-dominant triumph (37-20) to clinch a Super Bowl berth.
This time, Garoppolo figures to do more of what he does best: Read, step, throw.
Drew Brees admired that facet of Garoppolo’s game when visiting the 49ers’ practice last month at the Los Angeles Chargers’ facility. “He’s got that wider base, very quick in getting the ball out, right? Very quick in through the progression,” Brees, now an NBC Sports analyst, told this news organization last month. “It actually reminds me a lot of the way I tried to play the game.
“It was funny, because (Garoppolo) said, ‘I watch you and Aaron (Rodgers) a lot. Your ability: foot down, ball out.’ “
Garoppolo ranks among the NFL’s quick-draw leaders, taking only 2.47 seconds to throw. The only quarterbacks quicker: Ben Roethlisberger (2.41), Dak Prescott (2.42) and Tom Brady (2.46).
In the Packers’ Monday night win over the Lions, Rodgers was 14-of-15 for 127 yards and three touchdowns when he threw under 2.5 seconds.
“Whenever you can sneak a peek and see what he’s doing, the dude is unbelievable and can do things with the ball that not many can,” Garoppolo said.
Garoppolo’s ability to process reads quickly and get the ball out in a timely fashion means, well, he doesn’t loiter in the pocket to unleash deep passes, and that trait continually irks the fan base, even after a 2-0 start (26-9 all-time as the 49ers’ starter, when healthy).
“In this offense, it benefits you with the short passes that are an extension of the run game,” Garoppolo said.
Shanahan concurred, adding that rarely do pockets exist where quarterbacks can step into a throw like a center fielder throwing to home plate, so power must be generated through the torque of a body.
“Aaron’s best the best on the planet for a long time at it,” Shanahan said of that aspect.
Rodgers has 18 touchdown passes against two interceptions while going 5-3 in regular-season games against the 49ers, and, he is more notorious for his 0-3 playoff record (five touchdowns, three interceptions in the 2012, ’13 and ’19 seasons.
Garoppolo is 2-0 in starts against Green Bay, both wins coming in the 2019 season, capped by that NFC Championship win. He was on injured reserve in 2018 and ’20 losses. His heir apparent, Trey Lance, had no snaps last game after a four-snap cameo in the opener.
RUNNING BACK ADDED
Frank Gore, the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher, is not on the team’s immediate radar at a potential reunion, to which Shanahan said “it was a little early for that.” Gore, 38, is preparing for a potential professional boxing debut later this year.
“We never fully ruled that out,” Shanahan said of a reunion. “I don’t know exactly where he’s at right now. We have a number of people here that have a relationship with him. If that time ever comes and we need to do that and he wants to do it, we’d never rule that out.”
Running back Trey Sermon could be in line for his first career start, after his first career carry Sunday resulted in a concussion. He’s progressed enough in the NFL’s protocol that he practiced Wednesday in limited fashion.
Elijah Mitchell’s shoulder injury is more severe than a nerve stinger and kept him from practicing. The only healthy running backs on the 53-man roster are Trenton Cannon and the newly signed Jacques Patrick, who resembles a tight end or defensive end with a 6-foot-3, 231-pound frame.
Chris Thompson, formerly of Washington and Jacksonville, was added to the practice squad, where the 49ers already have Kerryon Johnson as an option to promote Sunday. JaMycal Hasty (ankle) is out the next month.
THE BOOMIN’ ONION
One good thing about the 49ers’ offensive struggles in their win at Philadelphia: Mitch Wishnowsky’s prolific punts. The NFL announced Wednesday that Wishnowsky won the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week award (three punts inside the 20, two inside the 10). Wishnowsky, an Australian who was nicknamed “The Boomin’ Onion” as a 2019 rookie, is indeed off to a booming start this season.
HALL OF FAME CANDIDATES
Former 49ers among this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees: Anquan Boldin (first-year eligible), Bryant Young, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Jeff Garcia, Ricky Watters, Brent Jones, Jesse Sapolu, Takeo Spikes, Merton Hanks, Tim McDonald and Gary Anderson. Current wide receivers coach Wes Welker is also among the 122 modern-era nominees
SOCIAL-JUSTICE FUND
The 49ers are committing $5 million in grants for social justice initiatives the next 10 years. As part of last year’s $1 million commitment, the 49ers mentored a group of high school and college students, called “100 Black Men of the Bay Area,” and some members visited Tuesday night at the stadium with Arik Armstead, Fred Warner, Trent Sherfield, Emmanuel Moseley, and Azeez Al-Shaair.
NOTES
— Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee) participated in practice and looks on the verge of his season debut. Fellow cornerback Josh Norman drew praise Wednesday from Shanahan for his 49ers’ debut in place of the injured Moseley and Jason Verrett.
— The only Packers player not to practice was a key one: Elgton Jenkins (ankle). Jenkins has been David Bakhtiari’s injury replacement at left tackle.
— Left tackle Trent Williams, linebacker Fred Warner and safety Jimmie Ward had veteran rest days and worked out on the side.
— Defensive lineman Arik Armstead (adductor) did individual conditioning and did not practice, nor did Kevin Givens (ankle).
— Tight end Jordan Matthews was released from the practice squad and replaced by defensive end Eddie Yarbrough, a training camp standout.
